Fadi's Remix of Tonga Music - Another encounter and cultural exchange
with Ngoma Buntibe 'Tonkunst' of the Valley Tonga

https://vimeo.com/683451072

"The music of the Valley Tonga is as extraordinary and distinct as it is beautiful." In memoriam Keith Goddard, the late Zimbabwean human rights activist and composer, „One man One Note“ – Keith Goddard on Tonga Tonkunst: mulonga.net/tonga-culture/219-tonga-tonkunst-one-man-one-note

On February 26/27th 2022, the Austrian artist Wolfgang 'Fadi' Dorninger undertook a "24-HOURS" online streaming MARATHON whereby he presented a series of his musical (and video) recordings live and remixed. One of the highlights thereby were his numerous encounters with the music of the Tonga, whom he first met and heard of when a joint ensemble of Tonga musicians - the group SIMONGA from Siachilaba in Zimbabwe and MALIKO from Sinazongwe across the Lake Kariba in Zambia - took part at the "Parade" in Linz / Austria.

The "Parade", curated by Keith Goddard and Peter Kuthan, was part of numerous cultural events when Linz was the European Capital of Culture in 2009. Thereby Fadi was invited to do some recordings. This was not the first time that the Ngoma Buntibe ensemble SIMONGA made it to Austria. The first occasion was already in 1997 when SIMONGA undertook a six-days expedition across the 'Dead Mountains' range in the Austrian Alps as part of the 'Festival of the Regions'. Since then Ngoma Buntibe music created a lot of interest among Austrian audiences and especially among artists and musicians.

The invitation to do the 'Parade' recordings sparked a passion and lasting interest for Tonga Ngoma Buntibe music in Wolfgang Dorninger. He took part in some 'Parade review' live remix sessions afterwards and joined the exhibition "Re/calling Siachilaba" in 2015. He participated also in the cultural exchange program of AZFA in 2017 when the exhibition was staged again at Frauenforum in Ebensee. At this occasion the ensemble of internationally acclaimed young Tonga musicians MOKOOMBA performed and joined another 'Parade' from a hilltop near Traunkirchen down to the waters of lake Traunsee.

In 2019, Wolfgang Dorninger was invited by Peter Kuthan to hold a recording workshop at the community radio station Zongwe FM in Sinazongwe (Zambia), home of MALIKO. In the context of the funeral service for the late Chief Sinazongwe, there was a big festivity in which several music groups of the Tonga communities from the Zimbabwean shore of the Zambesi River (Mulonga) and from its Zambian side took part. Actually another 'Parade' was undertaken from the Chief's Palace to the hilltop where the new radio station has been built. Some workshop participants presented their recordings in a set up along the shores of the Lake and Fadi took them along to Linz for another remix presentation under the huge bridge across the river Danube in the City center.

In many ways the music and Tonkunst of the Tonga has sparked and facilitated a series of cultural exchanges - thereby fostering mutual respect, learning and understanding across cultures, continents and generations.

Text by Peter Kuthan

The text on Tonga Music that Wolfgang "Fadi" Dorninger reads in the video is in German. Use deepl.com to translate the text into your language. Text: base.at/material/dorninger_tonga_2017.pdf

Links:

2019: Workshop at Radio Zongwe FM dorninger.servus.at/?/crossmedia/mulonga2019/
2019: REVIEW//MULONGA2019//REMIX dorninger.servus.at/?/crossmedia/mulonga-return/
2019: Blog Mulonga 2019 petra.servus.at/mulonga/
2017: "Inside/Insight Siachilaba" dorninger.servus.at/?/crossmedia/tonga-rmx17/
2015: Exhibition „One man – one note“ re/calling Siachilaba deutschvilla.at/event/12-06-2015-12-07-2015-recalling-siachilaba/
2009: Parade (Linz09) visp.machfeld.net/parade_09/
2009: Simonga-Maliko at Parade visp.machfeld.net/parade_09/?p=55
ARGEZIM/AZFA: webarchiv.servus.at/argezim/argezim.htm
mulonga.net/
Kunzwana – The Keith Goddard Collection kunzwana.net/

dorftv.at/video/31757
dorftv.at/video/31756

A video documentary about the set up of Zongwe FM in 2007: webarchiv.servus.at/tongaonair/travelogue_de.html
A video report by Mike and Tanja about the relocation of Zongwe FM in May: youtube.com/watch?v=Ng3vtQh7duk&t=3s
A special feature by Fadi on Radio FRO and DorfTV Fadimat going Mulonga 2019: dorftv.at/video/31749
Update back in Linz: fro.at/floating-sounds-zwischen-zambezi-und-donau

Photo: Peter Kuthan

24 HOURS
base.at/24hours/